Action and Consequence
by AngelGirl569
Summary: It's Eddie's seventeenth birthday and the whole school is invited. The party goes off without a hitch, save for a few uninvited guests. But it's what happens afterwards that shocks everyone. Now there's an Atlanta-wide manhunt, a beautiful girl in tears, and a boy with an unimaginable rage.
1. Chapter 1

**This story will start off being about Eddie's party but move on to be about much more than that. The story is rated T for a reason. There will be a lot of little jokes, I hope you get them. Please read and review, I love reviews!  
**

"Yo!" Li'l D swung into his chair at the group's lunch table. The others greeted him between breaks in conversation and bites of their lunch. "Where's Eddie?" He asked.  
"Don't ask me," Tamika said. "I ain't seen that fool since class."  
Philly Phil added, "I heard he had a surprise planned for today. I don't know what it was though."  
"Ahem!" A drawling Southern voice echoed over the school. "So sorry to interrupt your lunchtime, my fellow students, but I have a very important announcement to make. This Saturday is my birthday, and y'all are all invited to my party!" A cheer came from all. "And bring your friends!" More joined the celebration. "No gifts needed! Just come!" The whole school shook with the intensity of the student body's cheers. As they screamed and talked animatedly, scraps of paper began to drift down from the balconies. The voice said, "These papers are invitations. Enough for every student plus one! Make sure you get one or we can't let you in - sorry."  
Kim reached up to grab one. Papers drifted down to the others. "Come one, come all," She read aloud. "To Edward Lawrence the Third's seventeenth birthday celebration. Located at his home in Buckhead, at 7 sharp. Invitation required to get in. In case of lost invitation, display of student ID will serve."  
"Can you come?" Eddie said, appearing at the table suddenly. As usual, his hair was in perfect order, as were his fitted khakis and cashmere V-neck T-shirt. His shoes shined, as did his pearly white teeth.  
Kam frowned. "I don't know...our curfew is 10 o-clock sharp. How long do you think the party will go for?"  
Eddie shrugged. "How should I know? All I know is that my parents are in the Hamptons for the weekend and said I could have a party."  
Kam's brow creased in a deep frown. He muttered to himself, "Hmm, a complex predicament. Obey the parents who raised us, or stay out late to party, potentially embarrassing."  
Kim spoke up from beside him. "I don't know about you, Kam, but I'm going whether mom and dad say yes or not! Philly Phil, pass the salt." She leaned over to swipe the shaker from beside his plate, continuing the conversation while unknowingly giving Philly Phil a look down her shirt. He sneaked a not-so-quick glance and looked away as color rose to his cheeks. Tamika took notice.  
"Ow!" The tall boy cried after receiving a sharp kick to the shin. Cowboy boots can only do so much. She simply popped a tater tot with a smile.  
"Hey, Eddie," Li'l D called over. "Are you sure about this whole 'everyone in school plus one' idea?"  
The blond teen frowned. "Whatever do you mean?"  
"In case you haven't noticed, there are some real characters in this school." Just as he said this, a mime walked by holding hands with a girl dressed in a ball gown and turban. He gestured to them. "See what I mean?"  
Eddie smiled softly. "Li'l D, if you are worried about some mimes causing trouble, don't worry. Sulu will be supervising, and I trust him to take care of things."  
The rest of lunch passed quickly. The kids walked back to class in a group, threading their way through the crowded halls of Westley High School for the Performing Arts. Yes, Principal Luna had finally raised enough money to open up an extension of his school so that the kids' performing arts careers could broaden and expand while their parents' tuition money would keep going to the same place for four more years than before.  
They walked into their music class still talking about the lunchtime announcement. Sunny spun around to smile at his students.  
"Hello class, today we will - "The kids kept talking. Sunny coughed. "I said, hello class, today we're going to burn all our instruments and do crab soccer." They kept talking. Sighing in frustration, Sunny walked over to a gong standing in the corner and hit it with an echoing BONG!  
The kids stopped talking and rubbed their ears in complaint.  
Li'l D piped up with, "Hey, Sunny, why'd you have to go and do that for?"  
"I did that because y'all won't shut up! What is so exciting?"  
Eddie cast his eyes down demurely. "I'm sorry Sunny, I guess the class is just a little excited 'bout the party I'm hosting this Saturday."  
Sunny thought a moment. "Saturday...dang boy, you're turning seventeen this weekend, aren't you?" Eddie nodded. "All right then, just this once I won't give y'all detentions for talking so much. But pipe down now, got it?" The class nodded, knowing Sunny would never really give them detention.  
"All right then, what I'm going to teach y'all about today is - "  
"Mr. Bridges!"  
Sunny groaned. "What now?" Principal Luna walked into the classroom with carefully restrained anger. "Hey, Lunar Luna," Sunny said as way of greeting. "What's up?"  
"Mr. Bridges, was it you who just caused that enormous, gonging noise?"  
"I ran this gong here, if that's what you mean."  
"Well, when you happened to ring that gong, you woke me from my after-lunch-before-teacher-conference-nap time!"  
Sunny looked at the man, weirded out. "Uh, yeah. Sorry 'bout that."  
"It is fine. Just don't do it again, ok?" Sunny nodded, and Luna patted his head. "Very good. Now, continue with your class time." The man walked out quickly, teddy bear tucked in the crook of his arm.  
Sunny turned to his class while still rolling his eyes and began the days' class. "Today we will work on changing up popular tunes, giving them a little funk, you know?" He walked over to to Eddie. "Eddie, play me Twinkle Twinkle Little Star."  
"Yes, Sunny," The boy replied before playing the tune simply and gracefully on his clarinet.  
Sunny nodded. "All right, all right - class, your assignment for tomorrow is to redo Twinkle Twinkle while keeping it recognizable, got it? All right then, we're out of time, so off with y'all."  
The tall man loped off with his easy grace, students in his wake. Li'l D started to follow, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.  
"Li'l D, wait." Eddie said.  
He turned. "What's up?"  
"I have a proposition for you."  
Li'l D raised his eyebrow in suspicion. "What kind of proposition?"  
"Well, you know my shindig this Saturday? I need a bouncer."  
Li'l D frowned. "Why me? 'Cause I'm black?"  
Eddie held up his hands. "No! Of course not! It's because I think you're a good judge of character, and out of all my friends, you're definitely the most ripped!"  
Li'l D flexed his well toned arm with pride. "Well, I have been working out lately...sure, I'll do it!"  
"Oh, thank you!" Eddie smiled up at his friend. Although not as tall as Philly Phil, Lil'D was quite tall, and built with solid muscle under those jackets of his. The boys walked to their lockers chatting amiably. After a while, they said goodbye. Walking to the corner bus station, Li'l D hummed to himself cheerfully. He only had to assist Sulu, and could socialize whenever he wanted. Plus, Eddie was paying him one hundred dollars!  
A hand closed over Li'l D's mouth as he was dragged backwards into a darkened alley.  
"Hey, boy," A throaty voice said. "Got any money?"  
"Of course he doesn't," Another voice said. "This here looks like the most broke ass boy in Atlanta. Ain't that right?"  
Squinting in the darkness, Li'l D was barely able to make out who stood before him. When he did, his lips turned up into a grin. He punched the guy in front of him in the arm and said, "Mickey! You son of a bitch!"  
The other boys, stepping into the light, we're revealed to be friends from Li'l D's neighborhood.  
One guy, shorter than the rest, asked, "Yo, how is it at yo' fancy shmancy school?"  
"Just fine, thanks."  
A tall boy asked. "What was with the raining paper at noon? I could hear the announcement from the forest!"  
Li'l D nodded, understanding the reference to Forrest High, his friends' current high school. "My bud, Eddie, is turning seventeen this Saturday. He's throwing a huge party, everyone in school is invited. And he asked me to be assistant bouncer!" He added that last bit with a certain amount of pride. The other boys smirked.  
"Only assistant bouncer?" His friend with the shaved head and goatee asked.  
"Yes, Troy, only assistant bouncer. The official boss is Eddie's butler."  
The boys burst out laughing. They howled and screamed and rolled on the floor till their sides hurt. Li'l D glared at them.  
"What is so dang funny?"  
"You, man!" AJ, a guy with dreads said. "A butler? Must be some swanky party!"  
Li'l D shrugged. "I guess. I mean, it'll just be people from my school. You know, musicians, actors, models, dancers, acrobats - your usual crowd."  
"Dancers!" The short boy said.  
"Models!" Mickey, flashing his gold tooth in his grin said. "Yo, dude, think you could get us into that party?"  
Li'l D shrugged. "Maybe. I got to bounce - see y'all."  
He walked off, leaving his friends behind whispering furtively to each other.


	2. Chapter 2

**This chapter will focus mostly on Li'l D and the assignment they received. The party will be next chapter, I was thinking of skipping this chapter but just liked it too much. I hope you do too! Read and review please!**

As Li'l D munched on a peanut butter sandwich, sitting in a kitchen chair reading a Sports Illustrated, he hummed Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to himself, trying to figure out how to translate that onto his drums. He was just about to begin practicing when the phone rang.  
"Hello?"  
"Yo, Li'l D - It's Tamika. What the hell are we supposed to do for this stupid ass homework?"  
"Girl, I don't know. Just turn it into a glissiro or whatever you do."  
"Glissando, not glissaro. And that might just work. Thanks, Li'l D!"  
"Bye."  
He hung up the phone and began his homework. He started a quiet beat on the kick-drum, then began bopping out a rhythm on the tom-toms and snare drum. Throwing in a cymbal once in a while, Li'l D realized with a start that he had just succeeded. He smiled and pumped his fist in the air.  
"Well, someone's happy," Li'l D's mother walked in, arms laden with groceries. "Boy, come help your mother."  
"Yes'm."  
After the groceries were put away, Li'l D went up to his room and hung out until dinner. The next day, he met with Eddie at the dance studio.  
"Yo, Eddie," Li'l D asked, sliding up next to his friend. "When should I be at your house?"  
The blonde boy thought a moment. "I s'pose 6 should be fine. It will give you time to get into your uniform."  
Li'l D paled. "Uniform?"  
Eddie nodded, eyes lost to the curvy girl talking to one of the dancers. Wearing a black Tshirt and skinny jeans, Eddie was practically floating off the floor at the sight of her.  
"Isn't she beautiful?"  
Li'l D frowned. "Who, Tamika? If you say so..."  
The boy patted his friend on the back and sauntered away unobtrusively, taking care not to block Eddie's view. Even though it was recess, he went to the classroom. Surprisingly, Sunny was not there, although two others were.  
"Madison! Kim!" He waved to his friends, who were holding a hushed conversation. They broke apart quickly and smiled.  
"Hi, Li'l D!" Kim said.  
"We were not talking about you!" Madison said.  
Li'l D frowned. "Uh, sure. So, uh...Madison."  
Kim stood quickly. "I think that's my cue. See you at lunch, Maddy." Li'l D watched the petite girl as she walked away. After the door was closed, he turned to find Madison, the prettiest girl in class, smiling up at him shyly. Her purple skirt swished as she stood to greet him with another sunny smile.  
"Hey, Li'l D!"  
"Hey, Madison. What's up?"  
"Oh, nothing much."  
"What're you doing this weekend?"  
She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Uh, let's see, uh...Well, granny might have another stroke, I have to wash my cat, and...Oh! I'm going to Eddie's party." She turned to face him. "Will you be there?"  
"Yeah, yeah I will!" Li'l D grinned ear to ear, then composed him self. "So, I'll see you there?"  
Madison gave a little hop of glee. "Sure! Save me a dance, ok?" She leaned down and gave his cheek a little kiss. She then skipped away, cheeks blushing furiously.  
"Yeah...see you there..." Li'l D said dazedly. All was silent in the music room. With a loud Thud! Li'l D fell backwards into a faint, a smile etched into his face by Madison's kiss.  
Sunny sauntered into the classroom whistling a cheerful tune. He glanced at Li'l D in the corner, still in his daze, and continued walking. He stopped.  
"Uh, you ok shorty?"  
Li'l D jumped up excitedly. "Oh, I'm fine! Great, in fact! Isn't life wonderful?" He sighed contentedly.  
Sunny raised an eyebrow, a smile playing at his lips. "Am I right to assume this is about a certain blonde-haired violinist?"  
Li'l D only sighed. Sunny laughed and shooed him out of the room. The teenager walked the hallways with a big grin on his face. The sound of a distant explosion brought him back to Earth. He called out uncertainly,  
"Philly Phil? Is that you?"  
A tall red haired boy wearing faded yellow orange overalls and a white T-shirt stumbled out of the janitor's closet coughing feverishly, a cloud of dark smoke billowing out from behind him.  
Li'l D's eyes bugged out. "What the heck were you making in there? A bomb? A tank? A time machine?"  
The other boy shook his head. "I was just wrapping Eddie's present. I guess I went overboard on the nitroglycerin."  
Li'l D shook his head in amazement, patted his friend on the shoulder. "You do that, man. Seeya - I gotta scram if I want to be on time for Eddie's party."  
"Bye." Mustering up all the strength in his thin body, Philly Phil ran back into the closet with an enormous battle cry that echoed long after Li'l D had left the school.


	3. Chapter 3

**All right people, let's get our party on! This chapter will be longer than the last one, and ripe with drama. Read and review!**

"Lil'D, do come in," Eddie said, gesturing to his house. Once inside, Lil'D offered a wrapped box to his friend. Eddie thanked him and handed him a suit, folded up. Seeing Lil'D's face, he explained, "You don't need to wear the while thing - just enough so you're recognizable as assistant bouncer."  
Lil'D nodded and went to change. Sulu approached Eddie in full uniform as usual.  
"Master Eddie," He said. "With all due respect, do you think it wise to make this...delinquent...the one in charge of the official decisions as to who gets in to your soirée?"  
Eddie smiled softly. "I trust Lil'D, Sulu. You should too."  
"Yes, but..."  
The doorbell rang.  
"Why don't you go get that, Sulu?"  
He sighed. "Yes, Master Eddie." He turned back. "Oh, and sir-"  
"Yes?"  
"Happy birthday."  
Eddie smiled to himself then turned to the mirror to quickly smooth down his hair. Kim and Kam entered, carrying a huge present.  
"Here you go!" Kim said brightly.  
"Now take it - before our arms fall off!" Kam groaned. Sulu appeared to lift the package with one hand and walk away silently.  
Eddie smiled at his friends. "Welcome, friends! Might I say, Kim, that your outfit looks especially baggy today."  
"Thank you, I try." Dressed in light blue bell bottoms that bagged at the hem and a cut Tshirt that hung off one shoulder and exposed her midriff, Kim was dressed to impress, as usual. Behind her, Kam shot daggers at Eddie through his eyes, mouthing threats. Eddie only smiled and nodded, knowing that Kam could/would never follow through with it.  
Ignoring them, Lil'D turned to Kim. "So, why are you here so early? Party don't start till 7."  
She smiled excitedly. "Eddie asked me to DJ the party. Isn't that awesome? I'll be turning tables all night!"  
Lil'D raised his eyebrows. "All night? Dang, I couldn't go for that long!"  
She shrugged. "There are some playlists recorded for when I get tired. But yeah, most of the night I'll be up here."  
He nodded. "Yeah, same with me and this assistant bouncer gig."  
Kim smiled ruefully. "Guess we won't get to hang out much. And you're the best dancer!"  
"True, but my friends are even better. I think you met them once - Troy, Mickey, and AJ?"  
"I remember them. They were cool. Mickey and  
I still text sometimes."  
Lil'D raised his eyebrows. "He didn't tell me that - But he did say there was a cute shorty he was into. Maybe that's you!"  
She made a face. "I don't like him like that. He's a friend, that's all."  
Somewhere in the house, a clock struck seven o-clock. Immediately a knocking came and Lil'D ran to perform his duties. Kim continued setting up her equipment, having Kam do all the heavy lifting of course. Eddie greeted his guests with grace and kindness and soon the party was in full throttle. Kim was the goddess of the turn tables and Lil'D kept the wannabes out of the party, sometimes calling in Eddie for a decision. After 9, Sulu retired to his room, which was somewhere in the North-East wing. Lil'D was now in charge of the door.  
Luckily, most guests had arrived and he was free to enjoy the party. Kim was spinning techno-dance music and the crowd was loving it. Tamika was dancing with Eddie and he seemed quite relaxed. In fact, they were grinning and laughing with each other, no awkwardness at all! Kam and Philly Phil were attempting the robot between talking and popping Cheetos. Lil'D craned his neck to see Madison, dressed in a gorgeous purple wrap dress, hair bouncing through the air (among other things). Lil'D smiled with anticipation until he saw who the smile was directed to. Dirk Fleming, star of every school musical, blonde and tan, was dancing with Madison, his tight shirt showing off his swelling biceps and six pack. Lil'D shuddered. He squared his shoulders and walked into the crowd.  
Then the doorbell rang.  
"Why now?" Lil'D muttered to himself. He opened the door and gasped. Mickey, Troy, AJ, and a couple other boys Lil'D knew vaguely stood at the stoop.  
"Lil'D! My man!" AJ exclaimed. "Thanks for the tip, this party is jamming!"  
He and the others began to step inside, but Lil'D stuck out a hand to stop them.  
Mickey pouted. "Yo man, what's the big idea? I got plans for tonight!"  
Lil'D shook his finger. "No invite, no enter. Sorry."  
Troy slung an arm around Lil'D. "Dude, this house must hold a thousand people. Are five extra really going to matter? What could it hurt?"  
"Well..."  
"This party is slacking, and when have we ever not made a party awesome?"  
"Well..."  
"Exactly! So we'll catch up later, ok?" The boys filed in one by one. Lil'D counted them silently. His friends plus the two others - Sammy, a quiet boy who had probably been dragged here against his will, and Tyrese, a mean looking bloke who gave Lil'D a flash of the finger before mixing in with the crowd. Lil'D sighed and turned. Madison - and Dirk - were gone.  
It only took an hour for chaos to break out. No one came to the door after that, and Lil'D was free to enjoy the party. Just as he was about to dance with Madison, he looked up to see Mickey and Kim goofing off at the turn tables. She danced a bit as he experimented with scratching the records. A tall burly figure sauntered over. Tyrese.  
"Uh, be right back," Lil'D said to Madison distractedly. She shrugged and began dancing with Kam, to his great delight as Kim started playing a slow song. Lil'D pushed his way through the crowd of couples, one of them including Philly Phil and a curvy ballerina. He approached the trio with his brow furrowed in worry.  
Tyrese had his hand on Kim's arm, tugging at her while Mickey, fuming, yelled at him. As Lil'D drew closer, he began to hear snippets of their conversation.  
"Back the fuck off! This one's mine, got it?"  
"Baby girl, you looking so sexy up here...why don't you come dance? Just one dance, please shorty?"  
Kim smiled at Tyrese then glared at Mickey. "This one, huh?" She said through clenched teeth. She said to Tyrese, "Of course, I'd love to dance with you."  
She started a playlist of dance music and allowed him to lead her to the dance floor. The music, a song by The Wanted, blasted through the house.  
The two walked out onto the dance floor and began dancing. Her belly ring flashed in the light, blue-black hair flying in the strobe lights. Tyrese looked chill through it all. Lil'D decided to keep a watchful eye on the two.  
A commotion could be heard from another part of the dance floor. AJ had apparently asked Tamika to dance - while Eddie had been dancing with her. The two guys were arguing loudly, attracting the attention of many. Lil'D ran to them as fast as he could.  
"Woah there, break it up."  
Eddie fumed, "Lil'D, please throw this guy out of my party this instant."  
Lil'D saluted. "Yes, sir!" Taking AJ by the collar, he dragged him to the hall. He glared at his friend. "Dude, what were you thinking? You said you wouldn't cause trouble!"  
AJ shrugged. "How was I supposed to know she wasn't just some chick rich boy was grinding on?"  
Lil'D glared. "One more mess up and you're gone, clear?"  
AJ smiled sweetly. "Crystal."  
After Lil'D had returned to the party, Madison was long gone, although all his other friends were accounted for. Lil'D scanned the room for trouble and found none.  
Kim and Tyrese were lounging by the punch bowl, her laughing at something he had just said. Eddie and Tamika were slow dancing, smiling shyly at each other. Philly Phil was sitting with the ballerina girl, checking his pocket for something. Kam was break dancing to the cheers of a crowd, brow furrowed in determination. Madison was nowhere to be seen, and neither was Dirk. Lil'D gulped, assuming the worst.  
As Kim returned to her turn tables, Tyrese flipping through some records behind her, the house began to buzz with excitement and everyone's dancing. Philly Phil and the ballerina took advantage of the hub-bub to head for the guest wing of Eddie's immense mansion. Lil'D tried not to grimace in wondering what they were up to.  
After a few hours, Lil'D had to leave. His mom had said to be home by one, and it was close to two. He said goodbye to his friends and checked for certain uninvited guests, also known as AJ, Tyrese, Mickey, Troy, and Sammy. After ushering a few others out, including a shirtless Philly Phil, the party was over.  
Lil'D turned to Eddie, smiling. "So did you enjoy your birthday?"  
Eddie lit up. "Oh, I sure did! The party was wonderful and Tamika agreed to go out to dinner with me this Saturday! Isn't it wonderful?"  
Lil'D nodded with a yawn. He said goodbye and left, wondering why he never saw Madison, Dirk, Kim, or Tyrese leave.


	4. Chapter 4

**So the party's over. But our story is just starting! This will be a short chapter but an extremely important one. Read and review!**

A few days later, at school, Lil'D found himself alone in the classroom with Madison. As usual, she was perky despite the early hour.  
"So how was the party?" She asked.  
Lil'D shrugged. "Eh..."  
She frowned a bit. "Didn't you have fun?"  
Lil'D shrugged again, turning away from her. "Not really. But I'm sure you did."  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Although he couldn't see her face, her voice was level but still innocent as ever.  
Lil'D turned angrily. "I'm talking about Dirk! Look, I know you like him - It was so obvious. And then when you disappeared with him, I had to assume the worst. And it just bugs me because I was really hoping to get the chance to hang out that night and finally be able to maybe even tell you that I really like you, but of course Dirk is there and..." It was really more of a rant that a talk, but Lil'D had to stop talking when Madison kissed him abruptly. After a moment, they parted.  
He stuttered, "What...how long had you...I..."  
She smiled. "I've been waiting for you to do that for years - figured I had best do it or it wouldn't happen ever."  
Lil'D held the blonde girl's face in his hands. "Oh Maddie, you are so gorgeous."  
They kissed again, for longer. Unfortunately, their bliss was ended by a loud cough from the door.  
"Ahem," Sunny said, hat bowed over his face. "Could y'all move this love fest, or should I find another classroom to teach in?"  
The teens broke apart sheepishly, blushing crazily. Sunny only laughed and shot Lil'D a wink. The rest of the class arrived shortly, most toting coffee cups and yawning. Philly Phil looked quite cheerful for a Monday, as did Eddie. Kam only looked worried.  
"Yo, Kam," Sunny said. "Where's Kim?"  
The boy paled, turning to face Sunny. "I don't know."  
A hush fell over the room.  
Lil'D cried, "What do you mean, you don't know? You're her brother, can't you use some sort of twin telepathy to find her?"  
Kam shook his head. "My parents already tried."  
Sunny led Kam to a seat. "All right Kam, where did you last see your sister?"  
"At Eddie's party, on Saturday night."  
"Eddie?"  
The blonde boy held up his hands. "I don't know nothing about it."  
Sunny continued. "Who was she with? Did anything seem suspicious?"  
Kam's frown deepened. "The guy she was with - Tyrese - had a shifty look about him. I told her he was bad news, but she told me to stay out of it. That...that was the last I ever saw of her!"  
He sniffled a bit, and his classmates comforted him kindly, saying "There, there," and patting his back.  
He straightened, collected himself, and said, "Sunny, may we begin class?"  
Sunny nodded. "Sure man. Come on class, let's get started."  
Outraged, Eddie said, "How can you expect us to learn at a time like this?"  
Sunny sighed. "Look y'all, I care about Kim as much as the rest of y'all, but we have a performance in a couple weeks and I have a responsibility to make sure you guys sound good. Please, just...leave it up to the authorities. Ok?"  
Kam shook his head. "The police said that until twenty four hours have gone by, she's not officially missing. So we just have to hope for the best."  
"Well, that's just awful!" Eddie fretted nervously. "That's it, I'm calling Sulu."  
Kam looked at him strangely. "What exactly will that accomplish?"  
Eddie ignored him, saying to Sulu, "Sulu, I need you to organize a search party. Kim Chin is missing and we need to track her party. Cover all of Atlanta! Get the government involved! Make sure you find her - Daddy might fire you if you don't." He snapped his phone shut and smiled cheerily at his friends. "Don't worry, Sulu is on the case!"  
Speechless, his friends could only nod dumbly and turn to begin the day's lesson.


End file.
